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VERDUN February 21St ––– – – – – – – – – – – D E C E M B E R 1 8 Th VERDUN February 21st ––– – – – – – – – – – – D e c e m b e r 1 8 th Hell cannot be as terrible as this. 1916 –French soldier The outbreak of World War I At the beginning of the 20th century, a strug- The young, united German state demanded a new, more beneficial divi- gle for power in the world led to increased sion of the colonies and challenged tensions between hostile states, particularly the maritime power of Great Britain by Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman expanding its own fleet. Empire who were opposed to Anglo-French The Balkans remained the most tense domination. region in Europe. The countries that had gained independence not so long before – Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria – were trying to strengthen their positions at the expense of their neighbors. Bulgaria at the expense of collapsing Turkey and developing Greece, Serbia at the expense of Austria-Hungary, a country with a large Slavic minority. The area of contention between the two countries was Bosnia – with Sarajevo as its capital, previously annexed by the Habsburg kingdom. June 28th, 1914 GREAT RUSSIA Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the BRITAN Austro-Hungarian throne, is shot dead in GERMANY Sarajevo by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. This starts a sequence of events that will lead to the outbreak of the Great War, now known as World War I (1914–1918). FRANCE AUSTRIA-HUNGARY SERBIA ITALY BULGARIA TURKEY Outbreak of war 1914 The Triple Entente The Triple Alliance The System of Alliances July 28 August 3rd August 5th August 10 August 23 Austria-Hungary Germany declares Austria-Hungary France declares war Japan enters the declares war on war on France declares war on on Austria-Hungary war on the side of Serbia Russia the Entente allies August 1st August 3rd and 4th August 12 October 29 Germany declares Germany crosses the border of Britain declares Turkey enters the war on Russia neutral Belgium and declares war on Austria- war on the side of war on it -Hungary. the Central Powers August 4th Great Britain, as a guarantor of Belgian independence, declares war on Germany Before the Battle – Forces, Leadership and Weaponry France Germany French propaganda graphic – Entente soldiers fight the German monster, Le Petite Journal daily, 1 140 000 1 250 000 September 1914 soldiers soldiers 388 500 302 days field artillery field artillery How long the Battle of 244 700 Verdun lasted large-caliber large-caliber Gen. Philippe Pétain artillery artillery Gen. Paul von Hindenburg = 100 10 square Gen. Georges Nivelle Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn kilometres Erich von Falkenhayn orders In 1915, the French command the German 5th Army, led by The battle was withdraws most of its guns from the German heir to the throne, fought over an Verdun, recognizing the area Crown Prince Wilhelm, to area of no more as a point of minor strategic attack Verdun without order- than 10 square importance. ing the capture of the fortress kilometres. itself. Prince Wilhelm decides Statistically, himself to order his troops to losses on both take the fortifications around sides amounted the city. Verdun is greatly to 70 thousand damaged, but the Germans 226 170 men per 1 square never capture it. The Meat Grinder aircraft aircraft kilometre. Verdun was to become a "meat grinder" for the French. The Germans, however, suffered similar losses. I came here with 175 people. At the end there were 34 – some fell into madness, there is nothing more to be said… – French soldier […] Through glasses we can see men maddened, men covered with earth and blood, falling one upon the other. When the first wave of the assault is decimated, the ground is dotted with heaps of corpses, but the second wave is already pressing on. – French soldier Artillery and heavy machine guns During the Battle of Verdun, 80% of the casualties were Maschinengewehr 08/15 caused by artillery fire. The soldiers who survived A German light machine gun designed in that, were then decimated 1915 and largely popular among the German with machine gun fire during units during WWI. Calibre: 7.92 mm/ Effective subsequent attacks on fortified range: 800 m./ Rate of fire: 450 rounds/min. enemy positions. source: Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum Verdun – a City Fortress For the Germans, the Verdun fortress Located on the bank of the Meuse River, had been an obstacle in their march on Verdun was surrounded by a ring of the West for centuries. After the defeat of fortifications. The hilly terrain made Verdun France in their war with Prussia in 1871, combat operations difficult. The city was the city became a border fortress. In the surrounded by 19 forts and 47 fortified summer of 1914, when the Battle of the observation points armed with 155 mm Marne took place, Verdun resisted every and 75 mm guns, machine guns and German attack preventing its enemies manned by approx. 65 thousand soldiers. from entering the heart of France from the east. If it had fallen, Paris would have fallen too, and thus the war would have ended. The attack on Verdun forced the French army command to throw all human resources available into the Fort de Le Mort Homme defense of the city. Hill 304 Douaumont THIAUMONT War of Annihalation Fort de Vaux FLEURY The author of the plan, known as Gericht (meaning 'judgment'), was the chief of the Fort de Souville German general staff, Erich von Falkenhayn. He intended to "bleed France white." Long-lasting, massive artillery fire on an unprecedented scale was meant to destroy VERDUN the French army and any subsequent units sent to reinforce the front. The remnants were to be pushed back to the Meuse River and trapped there. At the beginning of 1916, the Verdun region was surrounded by German troops on three sides. The Germans controlled all of the access roads to the city. Verdun – panoramic view after the war, 1919 In the 7 weeks leading up to the The German preparations were attack, the Germans built new protected by nearly 170 aircraft, rail lines to deliver people and which made it impossible for supplies to the front – 1.3 thou- the French air force to conduct sand trains were put to use for reconnaissance operations. this purpose. Voie Sacrée The French had only one way of supplying the front – the so-called 'sacred' road (French Voie Sacrée). Several thousand trucks and hun- dreds of other vehicles with supplies and tens of thousands of soldiers passed along this route. Battle – Course Of Events, Turning Points, Phases Phase I During the first German offensive German shelling, February 21st – March 4th 2 million shells were fired. In the morning, a 9-hour German bombardment of French positions begins. 40 million to 60 million shells were fired throughout In the afternoon, the German infantry start their the battle assault. The Germans occupy several towns and gain land. French lines of defense are in turmoil. th On February 25 , without much resistance from the = 1000 French, the Germans occupy a strategically impor- tant point – Fort Douaumont. Further fighting takes place over the village of Douaumont, which is occupied by the Germans at the beginning of March. General Philippe Pétain takes command at Verdun. He reorganizes defenses, deploys artillery on the left bank of the Meuse. He also introduces a new system of rotation of French first line units. F e b ru ar y 21 18 er b m Dece VERDUN Ju ly 1 Phase II 2 Battles for Le Mort Homme and Hill 304 March 6th – May 31st Le Mort Homme German Attack on Côte 304 (Hill 304) and Fort Vaux Owing to thousands The Germans cross the Meuse and fiercely attack the An area of less than 2 km2 is continuously bom- of shells falling, Côte 304 would hill and fort Le Mort Homme (Dead Man). However, barded by 500 German guns for 36 hours. Incurring eventually become the French hold back their onslaught with machine huge losses of their own, the Germans finally con- 7 metres lower. gun fire from Côte 304 (Hill 304). The Germans then quer the hill. On March 8th, the German attack to cap- decide to take Hill 304 first. ture the enormously fortified Fort Vaux collapses. On May 8th, an ammuni- tion depot explodes in Fort Douaumont – 700 Germans are killed on the spot. The ignition is caused by a stove which the German soldiers were using to cook meals. After 3 months of fighting and colos- sal losses on both sides, at the end of May, the Germans conquer the Le Mort Homme hill. Verdun Hell Murderous battles take place over every meter of the terrain. One of the trenches is so full Soldiers get bogged down in mud, drink from bullet craters, and the of the wounded and dead wounded die in agony. bodies, the attackers had to use a footbridge over it to launch an attack. – A soldier's account Phase III Fighting for Fort Vaux March 8th – June 23rd The Germans attack Fort Vaux. Between March 8th and 19th, they are repelled by massive fire from machine guns. There is no water supply in the besieged fort – the soldiers have to lick water off the walls to survive. Panic attacks are rampant. On May 22nd, the French counterattack with bayo- nets to regain Fort Daumont. However, they suffer significant losses. On June 7th, after a 5-day siege, the Germans occupy Fort Vaux. The very next day the French launch a 10-fold bigger counterattack in order to retake the fort – to no avail. 70% Rotation of Soldiers of the entire French The Germans hastily replace the fallen with Barbed wire army fought at young, inexperienced soldiers.
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